After all, no one is perfect. Our good deeds and efforts should count for something, shouldn’t they?
If our good deeds outweigh all of our bad deeds, we should be good enough to earn our way into heaven.
It sounds reasonable, even fair, but…
Let’s first define heaven.
There are many versions and ideas of heaven. According to the Bible, heaven is God’s domain, a kingdom over which God rules and reigns as King. Since God is love, life, and life, the domain of His Kingdom is indeed a beautiful and wonderful place to be.
Because heaven is the domain of God and because God is holy and good, the citizens of His Kingdom, dwellers of heaven, must be holy and good by nature.
Because heaven is under God’s rule, He alone has the authority to decide who can enter it. We cannot choose how we enter His domain.
If God had said, “You will enter my Kingdom if your good deeds outweigh your bad ones,” that would be the way to enter heaven. But Jesus tells us a very different story.
“Now this is eternal life —that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.” (John 17:3)
Jesus defines eternal life—life in heaven—as knowing God and Jesus.
Being good or good enough is not the way to heaven.
To enter heaven or God’s domain, we need to have a relationship with Him. But there is a problem—our sins.
What the Bible calls sin is far more than doing bad things. If you are not familiar with it, continue your spiritual journey with “Sin That Has Destroyed Humanity“.
Because of our sins, our relationship with God is severed. We have turned our backs on God. We have disrespected our loving heavenly Father. We have rebelled against our King. We have made God our enemy!
If you can identify with the sinful nature of humanity, go to the NEXT QUESTION, for there is hope for you (and for all of us)!